empatheias_ooc | TEST DRIVE: October

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*test drive

TEST DRIVE: October

— TEST DRIVE: OCTOBER —

Welcome to

empatheias' test drive meme. This test drive is to help interested players test their characters in the game's environment. We've included a few prompts that incorporate specific elements of the game, though you'll find all of them have a lot of leeway for players to get as creative as necessary. Before diving in, here are a few things we'd like to remind everyone about the game in general:

Date reminders. Reserves open Sunday, September 24 and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on October 1st. Apps will only be open for four days!
OC Reminder! Just a quick reminder that original characters are allowed. Those interested can also use the test drive. OCs do not need to be reserved.
Emotions are key! Empatheias' premise focuses on how anyone's emotions can affect their environment, be it big or small. While not every emotion will cause a reaction, significant ones definitely will. How much effect a character will have will ultimately be up to you, the player. Also, while we're giving a lot of leeway for the test drive, keep in mind that there will be some limits in the actual game.
Everyone has an amulet. All characters have a unique amulet that is specialized for them. It will contain all of their emotion drops and it serves as the network device. Remember, communication is telepathic. Otherwise, it works basically the same.
Assume the character is already in the game. Because "OMG WHERE AM I IS THIS REAL LIFE" threads aren't going to be very helpful in this test drive! Plus, those are going to happen in-game, anyway. So to make things easier, just assume that they've been around at least a week or so. Still learning the ropes, but not a complete "first day" experience.
First or third person allowed. Your threads can be in either first or third, but we'd advise being flexible about it. Remember, these threads can also be used in your application for samples! Reminder: We only require one sample and it can be done in either format. We have also made a change to our sample requirements, so look over the Applications page!
Transfer to in-game. If accepted, you can assume threads made on the Test Drive happen in-game if the scenario can reasonably fit. These threads do not count toward AC.

Now with that out of the way, here are some prompts you guys can work from!

PROMPTS

• Prompt A: How about giving the emotions a try?

• Prompt B: Refer to the Task Board and choose a task your character may be interested in taking up. For this prompt, you could have your character ask for help, already be in the middle of the job, or react to it in some way. Perhaps they were an unfortunate victim or want to create a job countering an existing one. You could even have a prompt making a job request. Creating jobs for the purpose of the test drive is absolutely doable.

• Prompt C: How about giving the amulets a go? Start a telepathic conversation and see how it works. Remember, the amulets are sending out the owner's thoughts so might want to be careful about how the stream of consciousness goes...

• Prompt D: With the crystal having been mysteriously stolen, the weather has been nothing but uncooperative, lately. Actually, uncooperative is an understatement. Just yesterday, it was raining frogs! Now, well…

In the Sky with Diamonds. You might be walking in the streets or in the safe confines of a building when it begins to hail. It's not just any ordinary hail. Instead of ice falling from the sky, it's little beads and pieces of… you guessed it: diamonds! Some are actually fake, but there are some that are genuine. Only the experienced eye will be able to tell. The catch is, it only rains diamonds for ten seconds. And in this short span of time, people have gone berserk over the stone. Looks like some are eager to sell what they've collected, while some are fighting over what "should be theirs". Are you one of those people opportunistic enough to make money out of this, or are you doing something else of your own?
One in a Melon. The crazy weather has not only been affecting the people living in Empatheias, but also the flora and fauna. The fruit stands everywhere have been selling all kinds of hybrid fruit, ranging from melons the size of a building to blue grapes that taste like chocolate! The latter sounds oddly delicious, truth be told. The vendors are all for giving free samples to anybody who passes by, too. In fact, there's one fruit stand that seems to be selling really well. Investigate, and you'll be given a slice of pineapple! Take a bite, and it tastes like Hawaiian pizza. Is this heaven or hell?

• Prompt E: It's safer to stay indoors given the strange weather, but you can't help but go out in the streets and explore! You're in a new world, after all. There is so much to see! Of course, when it begins to rain cats and dogs (either literally or figuratively), you look for a place to hide. Somehow, you've managed to enter a building that's dark, only lit by a flame in the middle of the room. There are a lot of hooded men and women surrounding the flame.

Welcome! When they notice someone else enter, they all look at the door's direction. "Ah! It seems we have a new arrival. Welcome to the Ortheias. You are now in a world where your magic can change the emotions of people. What is your name?"

It looks like you've entered the headquarters of some roleplaying cult. Try and leave, and they will explain to you that nobody can leave. Nobody even knows why they're here. And then someone will casually whisper to you these exact words: "As an OOC Note, we will all leave in an hour and half from now." Do you create a character, or do you play as yourself?
Getting Acclimated. With everyone in the room doing their own thing and "gathering relationships", as they so put it, you've been left to your own devices. Do you talk to other people who might be stuck here for an hour and half, or do you practice your "Emanis"? It seems that this fictional world they've created lets each person manipulate the other person's emotions by casting spells. A short display of fire can make someone angry, or making flowers appear out of nowhere might make the other person happy. Of course, these are all fake and the cult just narrates their usage of magic without actually displaying it.
An Event! Towards the end of the roleplaying session, the "roleplay moderator" announces an event! One of the guardians of Ortheias, the Durathei of fire and ice, Seesonne, has attacked the city of Snerev! A part of the city is now burning, while the other half is encased in ice! What would you do in this situation? People are panicking, so you must stop them from worrying too much!

• Prompt F: While Halloween does not exist in this world, Otherworlders have been present long enough for the natives to slightly change their calendar. For the month of Empta (October), they wish to make sure the Otherworlders are feeling at home by celebrating Halloween! They know nothing about it, but they are going to try and replicate the feeling!

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo. For the rest of Exi (September), farmers are asking Otherworlders to help them harvest pumpkins. Thanks to the strange weather recently, these pumpkins have grown to be the size of a car. They're rather big! What's more, they've also grown legs and can run! It appears they don't want to be caught, but anyone who gives chase will be able to get them to stop easily. Just chop off its legs! And to make it inanimate, one has to carve a face on it.
What's Your Favourite Scary Story? To prepare for what's to come next month, the natives are asking Otherworlders to go to the Welcome Centre every weekend for a meeting of sorts. One will be able to find refreshments and snacks there, and there are a lot of people listening to speakers who rotate every so often. It seems these speakers are talking about their favourite scary stories. Perhaps you're one of the listeners, or you're speaking and sharing yours! Things are beginning to be spooky, though, that's for sure.
It Leaves a Good Taste in Your Mouth. Children are selling cookies door-to-door, and the only type of cookies they're selling are maple leaf cookies. It's only 10 sylvs a box, and taking just one bite will send one to heaven! It's so delicious that it might make anyone who eats it react in a strange way (the video is just an example, not the exact reaction). Spectate at how people react to these maple leaf cookies, or be the one that gathers a lot of attention!

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include cat ears and/or nail polish.

For your threads, put the Character Name and the Canon in the subject line to help readily identify them. You're also welcome to use more than one prompt for respondents to choose from. If you have any questions or want to brush up on the game information, refer to the Game Information entry. Otherwise, tag around and have fun!

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[So he knows. Of course he does; why is Asch even surprised. Why wouldn't Jade the Necromancer know about that? And because it's Jade, there's no point in denying it. Asch looks away, his jaw tight, and then gives a short nod.]

Yeah, probably. My fonons aren't taking healing artes as well as they should be, anyway. So what's even the point in seeing anyone about it?

[It's not like there's anything they can do.

[Perhaps sensing the shift in mood, the cat proceeds to rub against his shins. This time, Asch doesn't bother to try and shove it away. How pathetic's that? The best kind of sympathy he can get comes from a cat.]

[He's known the answer long before Asch has deigned to reply, yet it causes his gut to twist all the same--a reminder of the fate that awaited Luke whether or not he's decided to fulfill his promise to Lorelei. As much as he's learned to accept his powerlessness to stop it, time hasn't done a good job of easing the pain associated with such a thought. Reflexively, he balls his fist more tightly than is warranted, willing this very much unwanted and untimely emotion down.]

I'm afraid you've been operating on a misunderstanding this whole time.

[Despite his inner turmoil, he keeps his expression level as he slips into a professional mask he's used to donning, letting a deep breath escape him before he dives into an explanation he's long since theorized.]

While I wouldn't call the symptoms of the Big Bang painless, the fact is that you're not the one who is dying in this situation.

[At the end of it all, that is. The death of the original and his subsequent revival is a part of the Big Bang, however he feels it's not wise to spring that fact on Asch just yet and confuse him even further. That, and he feels oddly uncertain about condemning Luke to a second death once more.]

The healing magic here may not always agree with our bodies, but they tend to be serviceable.

[There's a small pause as Jade considers something he's briefly thought of earlier, but decided not to pursue until now.]

If you're amenable to the idea, perhaps you'd like to stay with me for a while. [Time may be on pause in their worlds or from whatever point in time Asch was taken, but their bodies certainly tell another story.] I'd be more equipped to handle your case and given what I know about the technology here and in our world, perhaps I may be able to devise a way to alleviate its effects.

[Or even prevent the Big Bang from happening, but somehow he feels that's wishful thinking on his part.]

[Wait. What? Asch's head snaps around, and -- was that a fist-clench? That's weird. Since when has Jade the Necromancer had feelings?

[Jade's words drag Asch's gaze up from his hand, eyes narrowed. He knows what it sounds like when someone's not saying everything. In this case it's practically blatant; Jade hasn't even explained why he means by that.]

What are you talking about? It's my fonons destabilising. Anything wrong with that dreck is the fault of you and his own stupidity, not me.

[Jade's the one who held him back.]

[Jade's unfurled his fist, but the wind that blows over them seems to carry a chill that isn't entirely due to the weather slipping into the first stages of autumn.]

Suffice to say, whether or not I held you back wouldn't have made a difference with regard to Luke's condition. [Would it have? Minutely, he thinks, but once the Big Bang has started, it can't be stopped. Borrowed time is still delaying the inevitable after all.]The issue of blame aside, I have reason to believe that Spinoza may have given you an incomplete explanation of the phenomenon.

[There's a considerate pause as he mulls over the ways he could proceed next. Does he really want to let Asch know about what he's theorized so far? It's already bad enough that Mieu had an idea of what was up, and one more person who could "accidentally" let things slip is a possibility he'd rather not have in terms of this situation.]

Whatever happens in between now and then, you will live.

[It doesn't feel fair or logical for him to feel somewhat bitter over the fact given its cost, but thankfully, it doesn't show on his face. However, a nearby shrub has started wilting in response to those emotions he's carefully bottled--a testament to how this world often chooses to throw them out at the most inopportune times. He purposely decides not to pay attention it, choosing to continue with his answers:]

As for the healing magic around here, I needed to have some wounds heal naturally due to some of my rather... unique aspects. [Aka never store a spear in your arm, kiddos.] Most other times, they work fine on us.

[The cat meows and huddles behind his legs. Asch's gaze flickers sideways, watching that shrub wilt. Is Jade the Necromancer actually having more emotions right now than Asch? Bemusement dulls any impact Asch might be having on their environment. The thought alone is almost incomprehensible.

[Not that it's for Asch's sake. He's not stupid enough to think that. But for the replica? And whatever it is, Jade's angry about it. Or -- emotional, anyway. Given the choice, Asch would have said logic is best on Jade, every time. But now? What kind of a place is this, to break the Necromancer?

[He snarls.]

But you're not going to give me the complete one, is that it?

[A scoff, and he turns, cat leaping away to avoid his boot, and circling like it's trying to predict where his legs might go next.]

Forget it, then. I'm done with manipulative bastards stringing me along by doling out the truth piece by piece. If I'm going to live anyway like you say, what do I need you for?

[A glance back, eyes slitted.]

Especially since it's not me you're worried about.

[Pointed. It's ... sort of a sideways offer. Based on Jade's own words, Asch's situation doesn't change much, whether Jade helps him or not; but if that wilting shrub says anything, 'helping' Asch might just change his replica's. If it's something Jade deems worth hiding, it's probably worth the exchange to know it -- as if Asch doesn't deserve to know it to begin with, when it's about him.]

[He sighs and presses a hand to his temple. And this whole situation reminds him why he isn't too fond of giving explanations, with the worst part being, he feels he's about to cave in and part with the details, given that Asch does have a point for the most part.]

You are correct. [About what, he'll leave that for Asch to chew on.] However, I should be able to do something about the pain you're experiencing. [Theoretically, or perhaps even stop the process as a whole, but he'll refrain from that for now.] Unless of course you find fonon destabilization a comfortable experience.

[Said with his usual touch of sarcasm before he goes back to a more neutral expression.]

The explanation and mechanics may be a little beyond a layman, which is why I thought not to bother you with the details, especially if I'm wrong about my theory. But if it is correct, [It is, Star is a testament to it.] you will die first before you are subsequently revived by absorbing your replica's fonons.

[Meaning Luke, of course, but it's easier to appear detached if he refers to him in this manner.]

It is but a theory, however. [He shrugs in an attempt to appear noncommittal.] There are too many unknowns with regard to it, and there's no guarantee this process will occur.

[Pushing things a little, but it's only been observed once and even if Jade is generally confident in his theories, he would welcome all the room to be wrong or off on this one.]

If I--we--could find a way to prevent or stop it, then this will no longer be a worry for either of us.

[But for that to happen, he needs Asch's cooperation, and he doesn't know how much of the Big Bang is a concern in this world. Until he's certain, it seems like a good idea to have an eye on both Asch and Luke whenever he can. And as much as he's doing this for Luke, he still feels responsible for the situation Asch is in, and as with all other matters tied to fomicry and other forbidden artes he's decided to pursue in his far-flung past.]

[Of course he's correct. He doesn't need Jade's sarcastic confirmation to know that. Asch ignores the other stuff, too, in favour of turning to look toward Jade properly, and listen to the actual explanation.

[And it's -- he doesn't know what. At first Asch says nothing at all, absorbing the information. Gut clench, stomach flip, chest tightening -- yes, alright, moving on. He needs more information before he decides how he's going to react to this.]

So he's going to --

[Asch shakes his head, unconsciously pressing a hand to his own chest. Wait. What does it mean, to die first? If he's disappearing, then --]

How can I absorb anything when my body's going to disappear when I die? How can --

[His throat tightens. He pushes through it, his voice coming raspy, aggressive; around him, the air shivers. It's not cold, it's not hot. It just shivers.]

We're different. People. How can I just absorb him and leave nothing?

[Unless something will be left. That would figure, with how energy works; and isn't that a horrible, lurching thought? He doesn't dare look at it too hard until he gets a response. Details, Jade. Stop treating him like a child.]

By our world's science, you are not. Might I remind you that the two of you are perfect isofons?

[Of course Jade knows better on another basis, however...]

Even with the fonon separation you are undergoing, your body won't disappear. [He's back to effecting a dispassionate tone, as if he were explaining something nothing more trivial than trite scientific fact to a child.] You're an original, the stable existence of the two. And the contamination effect cannot be prevented either, but perhaps with this world...

[There's a tinge of disbelief in his tone as he speaks, almost as if the logical side of him wouldn't, nay, shouldn't, even consider the possibility, but alas, the pain of loss has its ways of making such matters trivial.]

...it won't be only his memories that would remain, and a different future may await us. [He says at last, letting out a breath he didn't quite realize he was holding.] But for this possibility to happen at all, I will be needing your cooperation.

Don't give me that!

[If people are just fonons and fonic resonances, then what's the point of anything? No way. Asch and his replica are different people, with different experiences. He doesn't care what Jade's emotional stuntedness has to say about it. But Asch also doesn't bother to go on, since Jade is still talking, and there's no point to that argument. Not right now.

[Not with those little bits of information Jade keeps dropping, bit by bit. Still better than Van.]

My body won't --

[He shakes his head. That's not anything he's been told before. And -- he lets out a sudden, scattered laugh, bitter and mirthless.]

So then it won't be me, then, will it? If his memories remain --

[And Asch's too, probably, but what difference does that make? They're different people. Asch's memories in the replica, or the replica's memories in Asch -- either one would destroy what made each of them different. No. No, no, no, no, no -- this is almost worse than just dying. The idea of spending the rest of his life with everyone looking at him, wondering which one he is, looking at him and seeing someone who'd consumed someone else's life, the life of the person they really wanted, and always being the second choice in their eyes, the one they had to settle for --

[No.

[Stone cracks, spiralling out under his feet. The cat's fur prickles and it leaps away, hissing.]

Stop it from happening.

[Asch's voice trembles, and his face is brittle, but he's otherwise more restrained than the fragmenting ground.]

Stop it from happening and I'll give you any help you want.

[Even a world where he has to live with knowing his replica is the better version of him is preferable to that.]

[Jade hadn't been comfortable with giving out this much information, but it turns out most of his worries about it being used as leverage of a kind have been for naught. Clearly, he's underestimated Asch's sense of individualism. And the thought causes him to smile in relief. And while it's one that doesn't quite reach his eyes, it's enough to seal a part of the cracks that have formed thanks to Asch's outburst--a small testament to the sad sincerity of it all.]

...Of course, I could be worrying about nothing.

[But something in the way Asch is acting tells him this is yet again another wishful thought, as with the reminder that Luke is here too.]

However, I'd rather not take any chances in this regard. [Jade never really did, if he can help it.] If you could stay with me for as long as you can for observation and check-up purposes, it may help me figure out a way to stop the phenomenon.

[Honestly, he's not sure he can, but if the possibility exists at all... he's not one to deny it--or a chance to seize it--that's for certain.]

[Asch shifts away from the repairing cracks, like he's still not sure how far someone else's emotional shifts might go; last time, his replica had nearly blinded him with light in the air. Even that small sealing-over, coming from the Necromancer, says something. It's not for him, it's not about him -- he can never forget that. For Jade, he's just a means to an end to save the replica.

[So what else is new.

[The cat winds its way between cracked stone using the repaired sections as a path, and rubs up against his legs, purring. Asch ignores it.]

Fine. If there's any risk, I'm not going to be stupid and ignore it.

['Worrying about nothing' is a fool's denial. Only fools take the slim chance of something not happening and bury their heads in the sand; and neither Jade nor Asch are fools. (Asch might be an idiot, sometimes, which is something he's never admitting to anyone -- but he's not a fool.)

[-- Which is a salient question, because he's not the only idiot around. Asch's eyes narrow.]

-- That dreck doesn't know about this, does he?

[He would have acted differently when they'd met, if he did. Surely.]

Luke does not know of this.

[Said in a manner that suggests it's a veiled correction of a kind in terms of names. He decides not to offer an excuse for it, knowing anything would simply ring manipulative and harken back to an impression of him treating Luke like a child, even if that's far from his true reasons, which were more of a selfish variety.]

Though I suppose at the moment, there's no point in keeping it from him.

[He sighs again, none too thrilled about this impending explanation and Luke's possible reaction to it.]

[Yeah, whatever. Asch scoffs but deigns not to respond to that correction. That even the Necromancer feels that defensive on the replica's behalf ...

[Ugh.]

If it's that difficult for you, I'll tell him myself. Where's he been staying?

[They might as well get this over with. Aside from figuring out what to do with the cat making itself at home on his boots, Asch has nothing to do and nowhere else to be.]

At my place as well.

[Conveniently leaving out that fact earlier and many other things, of course. Needless to say, Asch is about to find out about the zoo of a kind that is Jade's place.]

We can do the explaining over there.

[However as he turns on his heel to lead the way, his gaze falls on the cat by Asch's feet, and an amused smile of a kind escapes him at the sight.]

I suppose you might as well take him with you. By the looks of it, I doubt he'd have it any other way.

[Ugh, naturally. Asch scowls down at the cat, who looks up at him with smug half-lidded eyes. He nudges it and it doesn't move off his boots; so with an aggrieved noise he reaches down, ginger because of his side, and scoops it up to carry it around the middle, under his good arm.

[He's not doing this because he wants you, cat. Maybe he can pawn it off on someone else.

[Tight-lipped and without a word, Asch follows after Jade, heading for Jade's house.]

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TEST DRIVE: October

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